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Tumeric

Tumeric has found its way into BBQ. Sauces and Rubs are loaded with Tumeric to make them warm and a certain flavor. Many BBQ Cooks are finding success by adding Tumeric to there rubs. Get some Tumeric and try it today! The reason I’ve broke out Black Pepper, Paprika, Tumeric, and Cumin because they are so important to the color and flavor of BBQ!

Turmeric grows wild in the forests of South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the key ingredients in many Asian dishes. Indian traditional medicine, called Siddha, has recommended turmeric for medicine. Its use as a coloring agent is not of primary value in South Asian cuisine.

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Turmeric is mostly used in savory dishes but is used in some sweet dishes, such as the cake sfouf. In India, turmeric plant leaf is used to prepare special sweet dishes, patoleo, by layering rice flour and coconut-jaggery mixture on the leaf, then closing and steaming it in a special copper steamer (goa).

In recipes outside South Asia, turmeric is sometimes used as an agent to impart a rich, custard-like yellow color. It is used in canned beverages, baked products, dairy products, ice cream, yogurt, yellow cakes, orange juice, biscuits, popcorn color, cereals, sauces, gelatins, etc. It is a significant ingredient in most commercial curry powders.

Most turmeric is used in the form of rhizome powder. In some regions (especially in Maharashtra, Goa, Konkan and Kanara), turmeric leaves are used to wrap and cook food. Turmeric leaves are mainly used in this way in areas where turmeric is grown locally, since the leaves used are freshly picked. Turmeric leaves impart a distinctive flavor.

Although typically used in its dried, powdered form, turmeric is also used fresh, like ginger. It has numerous uses in East Asian recipes, such as pickle that contains large chunks of soft turmeric, made from fresh turmeric.

Turmeric is widely used as a spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. Many Persian dishes use turmeric as a starter ingredient. Almost all Iranian khoresh dishes are started using onions caramelized in oil and turmeric, followed by other ingredients.

In India and Nepal, turmeric is widely grown and extensively used in many vegetable and meat dishes for its color; it is also used for its supposed value in traditional medicine.

In South Africa, turmeric is used to give boiled white rice a golden colour.

In Vietnamese cuisine, turmeric powder is used to color and enhance the flavors of certain dishes, such as bánh xèo, bánh khọt, and mi quang. The powder is used in many other Vietnamese stir-fried and soup dishes.

The staple Cambodian curry paste kroeung, used in many dishes including amok, typically contains fresh turmeric.

In Indonesia, turmeric leaves are used for Minangese or Padangese curry base of Sumatra, such as rendang, sate padang, and many other varieties.

In Thailand, fresh turmeric rhizomes are widely used in many dishes, in particular in the southern Thai cuisine, such as the yellow curry and turmeric soup.

In medieval Europe, turmeric became known as Indian saffron because it was widely used as an alternative to the far more expensive saffron spice.

Folk medicine and traditional uses In India, turmeric has been used in an attempt to treat stomach and liver ailments, as well as topically to heal sores, based on its supposed antimicrobial property.

The active compound curcumin is believed to have a wide range of biological effects including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumour, antibacterial, and antiviral activities, which indicate potential in clinical medicine.

Preliminary medical research

Turmeric rhizome and powder.

A. Bernecker, Curcuma domestica Valeton (=Curcuma longa), around 1860 See also: Curcumin According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “there is little reliable evidence to support the use of turmeric for any health condition because few clinical trials have been conducted.”

Although trials are going on for the use of turmeric to treat cancer, doses needed for any effect are difficult to establish in humans.

Some research shows compounds in turmeric to have antifungal and antibacterial properties; however, curcumin is not one of them.